County manager takes over interim operations at Pender animal shelter

Published: Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 11:16 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 11:16 a.m.

Note: This is a corrected version. The original incorrectly reported the date of the county commissioners' upcoming meeting.

Pender County Sheriff's Department is no longer in charge of Pender's Animal Shelter, officials say.

The decision to move responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the shelter from the sheriff's department to the county manager was made on Tuesday, after a meeting between County Manager Michael Duvall, Sheriff Carson Smith and some others.

"The manager is taking an active role in it until we can decide what we're going to do with it," said Commissioners Chairman George Brown.

Who will ultimately oversee the animal shelter in Pender County remains uncertain, but Smith said his department will maintain supervision over animal control. Smith said he thinks Brown and some of the commissioners have a vision of what they would like to see happen with the shelter, and a mutual agreement was reached that his department would no longer oversee the shelter.

"They may want to make something bigger out of it.… There was some talk about having an advisory panel for the shelter. There's been some talk about that for a while," he said.

"I don't think they (commissioners) were displeased with me or the work that I've done with the shelter," Smith said, adding that he would have been able and willing to make some changes if recommended at the shelter. But given the amount of responsibilities his department already has, he is satisfied with the decision.

Responsibility for animal control was shifted from the health department to the sheriff's department in 2011.

"Personally, I've never seen a problem with the job the sheriff was doing at the shelter," Commissioner David Williams said, adding that Smith, Brown "and some other folk" had been "discussing and trying to learn if there's different ways to run the shelter."

"The shelter has always been a sort of a standalone organization," Brown said Wednesday. "We feel like it's just not the type of business that the sheriff probably needs to be bogged down with. Animal control is the enforcement side. The shelter is a different project altogether."

Brown said the commissioners will likely discuss who the long-term "responsible party" for the shelter at their meeting in Burgaw on Tuesday, Jan. 22.

On Tuesday Brown said discussions about transferring the supervision of the animal shelter from the sheriff's department to another department, such as the health department, had been taking place between Duvall, Smith and among some commissioners in the past and recently.

"We're just looking at what would be the best direction to go in," Brown said Tuesday. "There's nothing really wrong with what we've currently got. It's just things with the shelter can be a headache for the sheriff…. There's a lot of aspects with the shelter and its operation. It's really out of the purview of what the sheriff's department does, and it may be a better fit somewhere else."

<p>Note: This is a corrected version. The original incorrectly reported the date of the county commissioners' upcoming meeting.</p><p>Pender County Sheriff's Department is no longer in charge of Pender's Animal Shelter, officials say.</p><p>The decision to move responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the shelter from the sheriff's department to the county manager was made on Tuesday, after a meeting between County Manager Michael Duvall, Sheriff Carson Smith and some others.</p><p>"The manager is taking an active role in it until we can decide what we're going to do with it," said Commissioners Chairman George Brown.</p><p>Who will ultimately oversee the animal shelter in Pender County remains uncertain, but Smith said his department will maintain supervision over animal control. Smith said he thinks Brown and some of the commissioners have a vision of what they would like to see happen with the shelter, and a mutual agreement was reached that his department would no longer oversee the shelter. </p><p>"They may want to make something bigger out of it.… There was some talk about having an advisory panel for the shelter. There's been some talk about that for a while," he said.</p><p>"I don't think they (commissioners) were displeased with me or the work that I've done with the shelter," Smith said, adding that he would have been able and willing to make some changes if recommended at the shelter. But given the amount of responsibilities his department already has, he is satisfied with the decision.</p><p>Responsibility for animal control was shifted from the health department to the sheriff's department in 2011.</p><p>"Personally, I've never seen a problem with the job the sheriff was doing at the shelter," Commissioner David Williams said, adding that Smith, Brown "and some other folk" had been "discussing and trying to learn if there's different ways to run the shelter." </p><p>"The shelter has always been a sort of a standalone organization," Brown said Wednesday. "We feel like it's just not the type of business that the sheriff probably needs to be bogged down with. Animal control is the enforcement side. The shelter is a different project altogether."</p><p>Brown said the commissioners will likely discuss who the long-term "responsible party" for the shelter at their meeting in Burgaw on Tuesday, Jan. 22. </p><p>On Tuesday Brown said discussions about transferring the supervision of the animal shelter from the sheriff's department to another department, such as the health department, had been taking place between Duvall, Smith and among some commissioners in the past and recently.</p><p>"We're just looking at what would be the best direction to go in," Brown said Tuesday. "There's nothing really wrong with what we've currently got. It's just things with the shelter can be a headache for the sheriff…. There's a lot of aspects with the shelter and its operation. It's really out of the purview of what the sheriff's department does, and it may be a better fit somewhere else."</p>